Adjustment system for rotatable hood of outerwear garment

ABSTRACT

An outerwear garment comprises a body of water repellent material, a neck formed in the garment, and a hood secured to the neck. An opening is formed at the front of the hood so that the face of the wearer is exposed, and a resilient drawstring pulls the perimeter of the opening against the fact of the wearer. A brim projects forwardly from the hood at the upper end of the opening to protect the face of the wearer of the garment. A pocket is formed in the interior of the brim. The bill of a conventional athletic cap is inserted into the pocket when the cap is worn. Manual adjustment devices, at the rear of the hood, allow the wearer to draw the hood tightly about the head of the wearer. Resilient inserts may be secured between the hood and the neck of the garment. The hood and cap move in unison, without slipping and impairing one&#39;s field of vision when the wearer rotates or pivots his head.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The instant application is based on provisional patent application 60/578,069, filed Jun. 9, 2004, and is a continuation-in-part of patent application Ser. No. 10/448,065, filed May 30, 2003, and now abandoned. The instant application also relates to Disclosure Document 545,485, filed Jan. 20, 2004.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an adjustment for anchoring the hood of an outerwear garment to the had of the wearer so that the wearer may turn his head without the hood blocking or impairing his field of vision.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Outerwear garments, such as parkas and fishing jackets, include hoods to protect the head of the wearer from the elements and provide warmth. However, the hood is usually secured in an inflexible manner to the neck of the garment, so that when the wearer pivots, or turns his head, the hood slips and impairs his vision. Clear, unimpaired vision is a valued quality when engaging in outdoor activities, such as fishing, hunting, skiing, jogging, golfing, when encountering traffic, performing a sport, etc.

One attempt to overcome the vision impairment problem encountered with known hoods or outerwear garments is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,598,014, granted Oct. 17, 1972 to john W. Little et al. To illustrate, Little et al discloses a jacket (6) having a marginal edge defining a neckline (9), a hood (7), and a flexible strip (8) of knitted fabric of substantial width to afford relative movement between the hood and the jacket.

The flexible strip is stitched along one marginal edge to the marginal edge of the jacket, as shown in FIG. 4. The strip is stitched along the other longitudinal edge to the inner surface of the hood along a line spaced inwardly from the lower edge of the hood, as shown in FIG. 3. The lower marginal edge portion of the hood overlaps the flexible strip, as shown in FIG. 2. When the drawstring (13) is tightened about the face of the wearer, the hood is free to follow the movement of the head of the wearer, thereby precluding obstruction of the vision of the wearer, while affording significant comfort to the wearer.

The hood in the Little et al patent is pulled against the face of the wearer by the drawstring that passes through a tube (14) formed in the marginal edge of the hood. The free ends of the drawstring are pulled, and knotted, together. However, the hood is not secured to the head of the wearer in any manner other than the drawstring, and the drawstring may exhibit a tendency to loosen, so that some slippage of the hood may well occur. Additionally, no provision is made for the user to wear a cap, in combination with the outerwear garment. The brim of the cap protects the face of the wearer from climatic conditions, shields the eyes and reduces glare from reflective surfaces, such as bodies of water, snow, and ice.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The three components that comprise applicant's adjustment system function in harmony to achieve superior results. The three components are (1) a cap-keeper, (2) manually operable strategic adjustment devices at the rear of the hood remote from the entrance into the hood, and (3) optionally, resilient inserts situated at the lower end of the hood in proximity to the neck of the outerwear garment.

The cap keeper consists of a pocket, defined at the front of the hood, for receiving, and retaining, the brim of a conventional cap. Insertion of the brim of the cap into the pocket allows the wearer of the garment to couple the hood and cap together, to function as a unitary element. Additionally, the brim of the cap projects forwardly from the hood, and protects the face of the wearer from the elements.

The strategic adjustment devices are situated on the rear, exterior surface of the hood, at points removed from the opening in the front of the hood. The primary strategic adjustment device secures the hood around the circumference of the head of the wearer, at, or around, the area of the cap bottom. The primary adjustment device is located above the ears of the wearer on, or about, the location at which the cap is secured about the circumference of the head of the wearer.

The secondary strategic adjustment adjusts the top portion of the hood, also called the top length, to match the head length of the wearer's head, or the wearer's head and cap, if a cap is worn. The secondary adjustment device is located above the primary adjustment device, and perpendicular thereto, so that the primary adjustment device is not disturbed, once engaged.

Resilient inserts are sewn into the hood at opposite sides of the opening and in proximity to the neck of the outerwear garment. The inserts permit the wearer of the hood to turn his, or her, head, and/or move same from side to side without the hood slipping into a position blocking, or impairing, the vision of the wearer of the outerwear garment. The cap, retained within the cap keeper, is also retained, within the hood, without slippage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a hood constructed in accordance with the principles of applicant's invention, secured to the neck of an outerwear garment;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of a conventional athletic cap;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the hood shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the cap secured to the hood shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the hood shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a front view of the hood shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the hood shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 8 is a side view of the hood shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a fragment of an outerwear garment 10, such as a fishing jacket, including a body fabricated of a water repellent material. Hood 12 is secured to the neck of the body of garment 10, and zipper 14 joins the front panels 16, 18, of the garment together. A high, or storm, collar 20 protects the lower portion of the face of the wearer from climatic conditions, and vertically extending flap 22 conceals zipper 14, along most of its length. The flap is unsnapped to allow access to zipper 14. Flap 22 ends slightly below the top of the zipper.

Hood 12 comprises side panels 26, 28, joined together by top panel 30. An opening 32, is defined in the front face of the hood, and brim 34 projects forwardly from panel 32. The opposite ends 36 a, 36 b of resilient drawstring 36 are located on opposite sides of hood 12. Tubular sleeve 38 is defined in the lining for hood 14, and extends about the perimeter of opening 32. Resilient drawstring 36 is threaded through sleeve 38, and through exterior retainers 40, 42 at opposite sides of hood 14. Cord locks 44, 46 anchor the opposite ends 36 a, 36 b of drawstring 36. By applying manual force to the opposite ends of drawstring 36, the hood is drawn into engagement with the face of the wearer, and is retained in engagement by adjustment of the cord locks.

FIG. 2 shows a conventional athletic cap 48, such as worn by baseball players. Cap 48 comprises a cloth or fabric body 50, tape strips 52 to reinforce the seams between adjacent segments of the cap, an arcuate cut-out 54 proximate to the rear of the cap, and an adjustable band 56 at the rear of the cap. The adjustable band may include a series of snap fasteners and matching apertures, so that the diameter of the cap may be adjusted to fit snugly against the head of the wearer. Brim 58 projects forwardly from body 50 of cap 48.

FIG. 3 shows hood 12, including pocket 60, which functions as a cap-keeper. FIG. 4 shows bill 58 of cap 48 inserted into pocket 60 in hood 12, so that the cap and hood are secured together and move in unison.

FIG. 5 shows the rear surface of hood 12. Resilient inserts 62, 64, at the lower edge of hood 12, permit the hood to rotate relative to the body of the outerwear garment to which the hood is secured. Each insert consists of a length of the resilient or stretchable material, folded over, and sewn to hood 12. Band 66 traverses hood 12 in a horizontal plane, and separates the hood into upper segment 68 and lower segment 70. Primary adjustment device, such as drawstring 72, which cooperates with band 66, secures hood around the circumference of the head of the wearer. Drawstring 72 pulls hood 12 inwardly in the vicinity of the bottom of cap 48 for maximum effectiveness.

The secondary adjustment device, such as drawstring 74 which is retained within band 76, adjusts the top portion of the hood (the so-called length) to match the head length of the head of the wearer, or the length of the head and cap, if cap 48 is worn. Secondary adjustment device 74, 76 is strategically located above primary adjustment device 66, 72, and perpendicular thereto, so as not the alter or disturb the location of the hood 12 on the head of the wearer established by the primary adjustment.

FIG. 6 shows the curvature of brim 34 of hood 12, while the forward projection of brim 34 is shown in FIG. 7. Opening 32, in the front of hood 12, which receives the face of the wearer of the outerwear garment, is shown in FIG. 6. Resilient drawstring 36 passes through tubular sleeve 38 at the periphery of the opening and enables the wearer to pull downwardly on opposite ends 36 a, 36 b, of drawstring 36 and draw the hood into sealing with the face of the wearer.

Clamps, or cord locks, 44, 46 retains drawstring 36 in its adjusted position, so that the constant force exerted by resilient drawstring 36 presses the edges of opening 32 in hood 12 against the face of the wearer. Resilient inserts 62, 64 allow unfettered movement of the wearer's head, and the cap worn thereon, while wearing the hood in a cinched up, or tightened, non-slipping condition.

Numerous other modifications and revisions will become apparent to the skilled artisan after reviewing the foregoing specification and appended drawings. For example, the primary and secondary adjustment devices may assume different forms; the drawstrings 72, 74 may be replaced by snap fasteners, manually operable buckles and straps, or the like. Consequently, the appended claims should be interpreted broadly in a manner consistent with the spirit and scope of applicant's unique invention. 

1. An outerwear garment comprising: a) a body, a neck formed in said body, and a hood secured to said body about said neck; b) an opening formed in said hood to receive the head of a wearer of said garment; c) a brim extending forwardly of said hood at the top of said opening; d) a guide formed in said hood about the perimeter of said opening; e) a drawstring passing through said guide for drawing said hood tightly about the face of the wearer of said garment; the invention being characterized by a pocket defined within said brim of said hood, said pocket adapted to receive the bill of a cap worn on the head of the wearer of the outerwear garment so that the hood and the cap are joined together.
 2. An outerwear garment as defined in claim 1 wherein said hood employs a primary adjustment device and secondary adjustment device, located on the rear surface of said hood, to manually draw the hood into conformance with the head of the wearer in the vicinity of the cap.
 3. An outerwear garment as defined in claim 2 wherein said primary adjustment device is disposed below, and perpendicular to, said secondary adjustment device.
 4. An outerwear garment as defined in claim 2 wherein said primary adjustment device comprises a band extending horizontally about the hood on the exterior thereof, and a drawstring cooperating with said band for drawing the hood against the head of the wearer.
 5. An outerwear garment as defined in claim 2 wherein said secondary adjustment device comprises a band extending vertically along said hood on the exterior thereof, and a drawstring cooperating with said band for drawing the hood against the head of the wearer.
 6. An outerwear garment as defined in claim 4 wherein said horizontally extending band is located at the lower edge of a cap seated on the head of the wearer.
 7. An outerwear garment as defined in claim 1 further characterized by resilient inserts disposed between said hood and said body of said garment to permit said hood to move in concert with the movement of the head of the wearer. 